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> . . .the buzzsaw into which the genius of already more than> one generation has been poured and sprayed out as a bloody mist.

Oh, is **that** what they mean by "uploading"? ;->

https://singularityhub.com/2017/04/11/this-is-the-dawn-of-brain-tech-but-how-far-can-it-go/-------------This Is the Dawn of Brain Tech, But How Far Can It Go?By Raya BidshahriApr 11, 2017

What distinguishes Elon Musk’s reputation as an entrepreneuris that any venture he takes on comes from a bold andinspiring vision for the future of our species. Not long ago,Musk announced a new company, Neuralink, with the goal ofmerging the human mind with AI. Given Musk’s track record ofaccomplishing the seemingly impossible, the world is boundto pay extra attention when he says he wants to connect ourbrains to computers. . .====

In his book, “The Ideas Industry,” Daniel W. Drezner says we’veshifted from a landscape dominated by public intellectuals toa world dominated by thought leaders. A public intellectualis someone like Isaiah Berlin, who is trained to comment ona wide array of public concerns from a specific moral stance.A thought leader champions one big idea to improve theworld — think Al Gore’s work on global warming.

As Drezner puts it, intellectuals are critical, skeptical andtend to be pessimistic. Thought leaders are evangelists fortheir idea and tend to be optimistic. The world of Davos-likeconferences, TED talks and PopTech rewards thought leaders,not intellectuals, Drezner argues. . .

In a low-trust era, people no longer have as much faith ingrand intellectuals to serve as cultural arbiters. In a polarized era,ideologically minded funders like George Soros or the Koch b[r]otherswill only pay for certain styles of thought work. In an unequal era,rich people like to go to Big Idea conferences, and when they dothey want to hear ideas that are going to have some immediateimpact — Jeffrey Sachs’s latest plan to end world poverty orAmy Cuddy’s findings on how to adopt the right power stance. . .

Intellectuals create[d] the frameworks within which politicians operate[d].How can you have a plan unless you are given a theory?Intellectuals create[d] the age. . .

It also meant joining a tradition and a team. There were a whole setof moral tests involved with obedience to the movement,breaking ranks when necessary, facing unpleasant truths, pioneeringa collective way of living, whether feminist, Marxist or libertarian.

The 20th century held up intellectuals like that, and thendiscredited them — too many were too wrong about communismand fascism. But we’ve probably over-adjusted. . .====